Rajendra Chola Launches Naval Expedition Against Srivijaya
1025 CE · Medieval
In 1025 CE, Rajendra Chola I dispatched a naval expedition across the Bay of Bengal against the Srivijaya maritime empire, attacking ports and kingdoms across modern Malaysia, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. The Thanjavur inscription details the conquered territories by name. The campaign, spanning over a thousand miles of open ocean, secured Chola dominance over Indian Ocean trade routes connecting India, Southeast Asia, and Song Dynasty China. It represents the most extensive pre-modern naval projection of power in Asian history and marked the beginning of Srivijaya's decline as the dominant maritime power in the region.
Key Figures
Rajendra Chola I
Locations
ThanjavurStrait of Malacca
Topics
Indian Oceannaval warfareSoutheast Asiamaritime tradeChola Empire
Connected Events — 3 Connections
The Indian Ocean trade network the Cholas fought to control extended to the East African coast that Ibn Battuta would document three centuries later Ibn Battuta Visits Kilwa and Documents the Swahili Coast
Zheng He's treasure fleet sailed the same Indian Ocean trade routes that the Chola navy had dominated four centuries earlier Zheng He Launches the Ming Treasure Fleet Voyages
The Chola expedition secured trade routes to Song Dynasty China, which had just introduced paper currency the previous year — the two empires were major trading partners Paper Money Introduced in Song Dynasty China
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